Hat-fastener.



No. 627,92l. Patented June 27, I899. H. S. GRACE.

HAT FASTENEB. (Applies Hon filed May 23, 1898.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY S. GRACE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- FOURTHS TO SAMUEL N. RUCKER, OF SAN J OSE, CALIFORNIA.

HAT-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,921, dated June 27, 1899.

Application filed May 23, 1898. Serial No. 681,463. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY S. GRACE, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hat-Fastenings, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for fastening womens hats securely in place ppon their heads; and its object is to provide a simple, cheap, effective, and, if desired, ornamental attachment to the hat to be used instead of the hat-pins commonly employed. These pins hold the hat in place by being thrust through the hat and into the hair. Being independent of the hat, they are frequently mislaid, and, as in use they must either be thrust through the same hole in the hat or make another, the hat is always disfigured with either a large or a number of small perforations.

My invention is of that class of hat-fasten ers in which prongs used to enter the hair are connected with the hat by suitable elastic connection.

The object of my invention is to produce a simple and easily-manufactured device which when it is inserted in the hair will be for the greater part concealed and which may be connected with the hat by a single central elastic cord, which while it is not conspicuous still by drawing upon the device at a low central point between the prongs holds the device securely in the hair.

The accompanying drawings show different forms of fastening, all embodying my invention.

Figure 1 is a view showing the hat in position upon a head, the hat-crown being partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of one of my fasteners. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of one of my fasteners made from bent wire. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same.

My fastener can be made of any suitable materal, such as metal, hard rubber, ivory and its imitations, tortoise-shell, &c. If of metal, it can be formed from sheet metal or bent from wire. The fastener is composed of an anchor A, connected to the hat B by an elastic connection. The anchor in Fig. 2 consists of a body a,.having prongs b, preferably two in number and which are usually curved to conform somewhat to the contour ofthe head. Between the prongs is a loop 6, to which is attached the elastic connection C, I one end of which is secured at any convenient point within the hat. This connection is preferably a piece of ordinary elastic fabric, although a metal spring might be used instead. Its free end can be connected to the anchor A either permanently or adj ustably. The form of adjustable connection I prefer to use is shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in which a buckle loop 0 and tongue cl secure the elastic at any point and give any desired tension. In use I prefer to employ two fasteners upon the hat, one on each side, as shown in Fig. 1. When the hat is placed on the head, the anchors are drawn down sufficiently to put the elastic under tension and the prongs are inserted into the hair at the most convenient points. The tendency of the elastics is to draw the anchors up into the hair, and so to draw the hat down upon the head. It will be noticed that the loop 6 stands at an angle to the prongs and is practically vertical when the hat is in place. This enables it to be slipped under the hat-brim, Fig. 1, in which position it relieves the hair of part of the strain of the elastic without impairing the security of the fastening. As the body of the anchor will be visible under these circumstances, its lower part is preferably ornamented in some suitable way, Fig. 2. This ornamental part also provides a handle for pulling the anchor downwardly.

In Figs. 4: and 5 the anchor is shown as made of Wire bent into prongs and loops operating like those shown in the other figures and provided with a ribbon bow to make a neat finish and provide a handle. These figures also illustrate the permanent fastening of the elastic to the anchor, although it is evident that an adjustable connection can be used by providing the wire fastenerv with a buckle-tongue as well as a permanent connection with a plate-fastener.

It is not necessary that the anchor should be pulled down below the hat, since if the too elastic is attached high enough within the hat to afiord the necessary tension the anchor need only be pulled a short distance, and so remain concealed. The points for attachment and the manner of using can be regulated to a great extent by the taste of the wearer and will also depend to some extent upon the style and shape of hat.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-' A hat-fastener having two prongs adapted to enter the hair of the wearer and conform to the shape of the head, and provided at the lower end with a cross-piece which connects the two prongs, and further provided with a day of May, 1898.

HENRY S. GRACE, Witnesses:

L. W. SEELY, M. J. DIETZ. 

